SCHIP

My son Tim has a serious mental illness. Whenever a tragedy highlights the need for better mental health services, I wonder if policy leaders will finally enact some of the measures that would most make a difference for Tim. And for children who today are experiencing what he did years ago.

I'm usually disappointed.

Tim has had a bad outcome. He is homeless. It could be worse; he is still alive. Many are not.

Bad outcomes are the result of a chain of neglect of mental illness that lengthens over decades. We are not, however, helpless in the face of this chain. We have so many policy tools available to break it. We just need to get started.

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My son Tim has a serious mental illness. Whenever a tragedy highlights the need for better mental health services, I wonder if policy leaders will finally enact some of the measures that would most make a difference for Tim. And for children who today are...